Middle Grade Books

Nine-year-old Hillary isn't sure whether to believe her neighbor Sara-Kate about the elves that live in her backyard. Sara-Kate is older and she doesn't have any friends. What she does have, though, is a mysterious village of elf-houses and a mother who never seems to be around. Hillary is drawn in by the magic and mystery that surrounds Sara-Kate. Hillary soon stops caring about her school friends' disapproval of Sara-Kate. The more time the girls spend together working on the elf village, the more questions Hillary has about Sara-Kate's home.

Most of the residents of Coal Harbour, British Colombia believe that Primrose Squarp's parents have drowned at sea. In her heart Primrose believes that they are simply lost, and will return any day. At eleven years old, Primrose is too young to look after herself, so the Town Council gets involved. Paying Miss Perfidy to babysit becomes too expensive, so they track down Primrose's estranged Uncle Jack. He's a bit rough around the edges and his house makes scary noises at night, but Primrose makes the best of her situation. Her favorite place to hang out is a restaurant called the Girl on the Red Swing. The owner and operator, Kate Bowzer, spends her time smoking and making waffles, since she serves every dish in the restaurant on a waffle. As time goes by and Primrose's parents don't return, she comes to depend on the quirky folks of Coal Harbor for friendship and support. Every chapter contains a new little adventure, as well as a recipe for a dish featured in the story. This book is ultimately about faith and hope, and the ability to believe in something, despite what others may think.

Millicent Min is only eleven, but her resume is impressive. One of her goals is to graduate high school next year as valedictorian. But it isn't easy being a girl genius. Kids her own age think she's a freak, and the other kids in eleventh grade hate her for working too hard and making them look bad. Worse yet, this summer her mother is making her tutor geeky jock Stanford Wong and play on a girls volleyball team. Millie's grandmother Maddie is usually on her side, but even she thinks volleyball is a good idea. The only bright spot in Millicent's summer is her college level poetry class. When Millicent meets Emily at volleyball, for the first time she has a friend her own age who doesn't know she's a genius. Millicent hopes Emily won't find out the truth about her from Stanford or her family.